For Old Time's Sake
by strudelcutie427
Summary: Phineas and Ferb are 17 and in high school. Phineas gets nostalgic around spring breaks, and decides to get the group back together for another crazy adventure. PhineasxFerb not-really-incest, deal wit' it or don't read.
1. Chapter 1

"I can't believe we got away with all this," Phineas said, grinning. He and his brother were laying on their bedroom floor, looking through photo albums of their summer adventures.

"I can't believe we survived," Ferb chuckled.

"Really. We were pretty careful though, for ten year olds. Man, that was a great summer." Ferb nodded his agreement. Phineas rolled over on his back and sighed. "I kind of miss it. You, me, Isabella, Buford, Baljeet. But now Buford's too busy with football, Baljeet's too busy with all of his AP classes, and Isabella's too busy with her boyfriend. It's like we just dropped off the planet. Why do things have to change?"

Ferb shrugged and closed the photo album.

"And Candace. I miss our sister. I wish she'd gone to college here in Danville instead of going so far away. Ferb, you're not going to go that far away, are you? We have to go to the same college, okay?" Ferb nodded again.

"Well, spring break is coming up," he pointed out. "Maybe our old friends can pull themselves away then. I'm sure we can come up with something crazy to do, for old time's sake." Phineas sat straight up, the grin returned to his face.

"Something crazy, eh? Ferb, remember the blueprints for a flying car that we never used? We're going on a road trip."

xxxxx

"Uh... Phineas, are you sure this is safe?" Isabella asked in the back seat, twisting the ring on her finger nervously.

"As sure as I was with every other crazy contraption we made," Phineas laughed from the front seat, turning around and flashing Isabella a charming smile. "Baljeet... this is a homework-free road trip. Hand it over." Baljeet sat in the middle seat, next to Isabella. He sighed and handed his pencil and worksheet up to Phineas. "All of it, 'Jeet." With a sigh, he passed his entire backpack to the redhead, who grunted at its weight before tossing it out the door and into the yard.

"All right, everyone buckled?" he asked cheerfully. Everyone nodded. "Great. Ferb, let's hit the road!"

"The sky, you mean," Ferb remarked as he turned the key.

"Where are we _going_, Dinnerbell?" Buford piped up from behind Ferb.

"We don't know yet," Phineas replied, grinning at the use of his old nickname. "We're winging it!" he joked, pointing at the wings sprouting from the sides of the car. Ferb rolled his eyes and smiled at his brother's lame pun. Phineas pulled off his usual orange hoodie to reveal a t-shirt that was orange and white striped - and identical to the one he used to wear.

Ferb pulled out onto the street before flooring the gas pedal. They took off with a jolt, heading for the end of the block - and towards an oncoming car. They saw fear flash across the driver's face, and moments before the crash, they lifted off into the air and narrowly avoided him. The other passengers let out a collective sigh of relief.

"Ferb... you know we drive on the right," Phineas pointed out.

"Yes, yes, so you keep telling me." Phineas laughed.

"You're as bad as Dad. Love you, bro," he added, not noticing his brother's expression before he continued. "Oh, right - look, I made a CD of music for the trip." He pulled a CD out of the glove box and popped it in.

"Ugh, really?" Isabella groaned when Gitchee Gitchee Goo started playing.

"Yeah! I kept a copy! You gotta admit, it's good for a bunch of fifth graders. Look what else I have on here -" He flipped through. Some Love Handel, their song about aglets - ("Aglets? What the heck's an aglet?") - Today Is Gonna Be a Great Day (1), Paisley Sideburn Brothers, The Bettys, the Baljeatles.

"Where did you even find the aglet song?" Isabella asked.

"Remember how it was streamed live? I found a recording of it and downloaded it. It took me a while though." He trailed off.

"Don't you think you might be going a little overboard with this nostalgia thing?" Isabella made a face.

"Nah. It's just for a couple of days, what could it hurt? Besides, we were all such cute kids!" He chuckled.

"I was such a nerd when I was a little kid," Baljeet piped up. The car fell silent; then everyone burst out laughing. "What?"

"You still are a nerd, 'Jeet," Buford pointed out.

"Oh..." everyone laughed again.

"See how fun this is? This was a great idea. Woah, where are we?" Phineas looked out the window. A voice startled him.

"Just north of the tri-state area."

"Woah, it has a GPS, too? Nice going, Ferb!"

xxxxx

"So uh... where are we?" was the general consensus when night fell. They'd landed in a forest several hours away - several hours away without traffic or speed limits slowing them down, that is.

"We could be in China for all I know. But it's as good a place as any to set up camp," Ferb pointed out, pulling the key out.

"Buford and Baljeet can share a tent, Ferb and I will share a tent, and Isabella can have her own," Phineas dictated. "Let's get set up!"

The next hour was a flurry of tents, sleeping bags, and failed campfires. At last, Phineas and Ferb stood behind their car, looking for the last tent.

"Uh oh. It looks like we only brought two. Looks like we'll be sleeping in the car tonight, Ferb," Phineas said after they'd looked through for the fifth time. "Oh well. Time for dinner, s'mores, and scary stories around the campfire!"

* * *

(1) I feel safe having the theme song on their playlist due to part of the episode Phineas and Ferb's Quantum Boogaloo, where it shows that they are aware of the song. They broke the fourth wall - I'm just taking the wrecking ball to it! :D  
(Just so that nobody jumps on me for that.)

A/n: I has be write story nao? (Not with grammar like that, you don't.) Anyway yes, There shall be more PxF later in the story, right now it's just. this. So, hope you enjoy, and please review. :3


	2. Chapter 2

"And remember when we kept pranking each other with bigfoots at Grandma's and Grandpa's?" Phineas had been going on for two hours, retelling all of the the stories of their summer breaks. "That was great. I sure do miss Grandpa."

Isabella let out an exasperated sigh.

"I'm going to bed. Night, guys." Without another word, she made her way to her tent.

"I believe I will turn in as well," Baljeet continued.

"Me, too. Night, Dinnerbell," Buford continued. Phineas slumped over as he watched them zip the tent.

"But it's only 10..." He sighed. "C'mon, Ferb. We might as well just go sit in the car. You put out the fire, I'll go put the seat back so we have somewhere to sleep." When Ferb got to the car, the back seat was laid out flat. Phineas was standing at the back of the car, rustling through the contents of the trunk. Ferb climbed into the drivers' seat.

Moments later, he heard the trunk slam and his brother joined him. Phineas passed a root beer to his brother and held up his own can of cola.

"To the old days. Cheers." They each took a sip. "Here, want some doughnuts?" Ferb shook his head. "I can't believe everyone's changed so much. Isabella's all girly and stuck up now... I don't get it." He sighed. "At least I still have you, Ferb. Let's listen to some music." Ferb turned the car on. Gitchee Gitchee Goo started playing softly. Phineas started lip synching along with it and didn't notice his brother watching him out of the corner of his eye.

"Carpe diem," Ferb murmured, barely audible over the song.

"What was that, Ferb?"

"Carpe diem," he repeated, slightly louder. "Seize the day. It's Latin."

"Pff. I don't see why you didn't take Spanish with me. Latin won't do you any good."

"You'd be surprised. Anyway, that's not the point, it's a common phrase. Live in the present, don't dwell on the past."

"You're not into this nostalgia thing either," Phineas sighed. Ferb shrugged.

"It's fun. I just don't think you should get so into it. You can't go back." Phineas paused.

"I guess you're right, Ferb. Thanks for being such a great brother." He leaned against his brother. Ferb put his arm around Phineas, thankful that the darkness was covering his slight blush. The feelings felt completely natural; the two had been so close since they'd met that over the years it had just developed. For the most part, he was used to it, and used to hiding it. But despite how natural it felt, he felt so guilty. This was Phineas, his best friend, his brother... a guy. No matter how natural it felt, it was wrong... wasn't it?

"Ferb? Hellooo? Snap out of it. What are you thinking, man?" Ferb blinked.

"Oh - nothing..." Phineas shrugged.

"You sure? I'm here to talk if you need to," he reassured, sitting back up and slugging his brother on the shoulder. Ferb smiled. "Anyway - as I was saying, maybe we could do some fun stuff like we used to. Just the two of us. Who needs them anyway?" Ferb nodded.

"We can do that."

"And summer break is coming up in a couple months. We won't have to balance it with homework or anything. Say, I wonder what Perry's doing," Phineas mused. "I wish we'd brought him. Hey, Ferb - look how clear the sky is. How about we lie out and look at the stars? We have an extra sleeping bag we can lay on." Ferb nodded. Once the sleeping bag was unzipped and spread out, the boys settled down next to each other, laying comfortably on their backs.

"It sure is pretty... I wonder how our milkshake bar is doing. I hope it's doing well. Maybe we could check on it this year. Meap, too. Oh - and remember the day we shrank to play hide and seek? That one creepy guy who had a lock of your hair? I wonder if he still has it."

"I wonder how he got it in the first place." Phineas laughed, a happy sound that made Ferb's stomach flip.

"Good point. Man, that was weird." Phineas inched towards his brother on the sleeping bag, shivering. "It sure is chillier out than I thought it was." Ferb rolled over silently and pulled his brother into him. "Thanks, Ferb," he murmured. Ferb blushed again. "Hey, Ferb - why is your heart beating so fast?"

xxxxx

Ferb was the first one up the next morning. He had Phineas wrapped in his arms, holding him closely to his body. Phineas had buried his face in the crook of Ferb's neck and was snoring softly. Ferb smiled. His lifted his brother and cradled him for a moment before moving him into the back of the car. He shook out the sleeping bag and tucked Phineas in. He kissed his cheek gently and hurried off to start the campfire. 10 minutes later, Buford wandered out of his tent, followed by Baljeet.

"Morning," Buford grunted. Ferb nodded in response. "Got anything for breakfast?" He retrieved the box of donuts that Phineas had been snacking on. "Thanks, man. You hungry?" He shook his head and watched as Isabella stumbled out of her tent, stretched, and made her way towards them. Ferb snuck away unnoticed and left the three to chat. He sat in the back of the car, watching Phineas sleep. He didn't feel like being around people all of a sudden, and Phineas looked so peaceful. He was laying on his side, curled up slightly. Ferb could see his brother's eyes moving; he was dreaming. His hand found its way out of the blanket and to his mouth.

Phineas was sucking his thumb? He hadn't done that in years. Ferb knew his brother. Phineas only sucked his thumb when he had something on his mind. Even so, Ferb had to fight not to smile - Phineas was very cute like this. He watched Phineas's chest rise and fall as he breathed. He looked like an angel.

Phineas's eyes fluttered open and he pushed himself up, yawning.

"Morning, sleepyhead," Ferb teased. Phineas chuckled.

"Oh... shut up. What's going on? Is anyone awake?"

"You're the last one. What's on your mind, Phin?" The question seemed to catch Phineas off-guard.

"Hunh? Uh - nothing, why?"

"You were sucking your thumb."

"Oh... well, it's nothing big. Don't worry." He smiled reassuringly. "I promise." Phineas sat up and crawled toward the door. "Let's get out there."

"When are we leaving?" Isabella asked immediately upon seeing Phineas.

"Uhh... whenever, I guess..." Phineas mumbled. Ferb frowned; he didn't like seeing his brother get hurt.

"Can we go soon?" Baljeet requested. "I have a lot of math." Phineas sighed.

"Sure, Baljeet. Everyone pack up then, let's get going. C'mon, Ferb, let's go put the back seat up."

"Well, this road trip sure has been a dud," he said to his brother once they were out of earshot. "I dunno how. How do you go wrong with a flying car?"

* * *

A/n I am so sorry I took so long to upload this I have had this chapter written since before I posted the last one but I am so slow when it comes to typing things up nggghhh. I'll try to get hte next couple chapters up fairly quick to make up for it because errrr I have up to chapter like 5 written already. But I make no guarantees. *facepalm*. Anyone hope you enjoyed please review! :D


	3. Chapter 3

With the campfire out, the tents and sleeping bags packed, and everyone squeezed into the car, they were finally ready to go - and everyone but Phineas and Ferb were anxious to get on the road.

Ferb turned the key.

"Umm... why isn't it starting?" Isabella asked. The color drained from Ferb's face.

"O-oops," he stammered. Phineas looked at him.

"What is it, Ferb?"

"We never turned the music off last night," he answered, his voice coming as a mortified whisper. "The battery is dead."

...

"What." Isabella pulled out her cell phone. "Great, and we don't have any service. What are we supposed to do _now_? Thanks a lot, guys."

Phineas stared at his lap.

"Sorry," he whispered. "Didn't mean to ruin your vacation. C'mon, Ferb and I will go look for help. If we're not back by six, get everything set back up. We might not be back tonight." The car fell silent.

"Be careful, guys," Isabella said finally.

"Yeah, Dinnerbell," Buford added, "don't get hurt."

"Indeed," Baljeet insisted.

xxxxx

"You know it's not your fault, right?" It was Ferb speaking.

"It was my idea to listen to music. I knew it would run the battery down."

"I'm the one who forget to turn it off," Ferb reminded him. Phineas fell silent. "Just don't blame yourself." They'd been walking for nearly an hour. Phineas had found a nearby road and were following it - but it seemed deserted. Phineas sighed.

"My feet are tired," he muttered. "I hate this. All I wanted to do was get together with our friends and have a good time. Now we're stuck in a forest who-knows-where, and everyone's mad at me. I wish I'd never even had this idea."

"I'm not mad at you."

"Thanks, Ferb. That really means a lot right now," Phineas said, smiling for the first time since they'd piled into the car that morning. Ferb fell silent again. "We'll always be friends, right?"

Ferb wasn't sure what had brought this question on, but he answered honestly anyway. "Of course, Phineas. That's one thing that will never change."

At about 7, the sun started to set. The boys had been walking all day and were glad to find a nearby clearing and start a fire.

"Wish we'd brought some food," Phineas said, stomach growling. Ferb nodded. "Hey, Ferb... what happened last night? I mean... you're usually so careful about stuff like turning off the radio."

"I was just... thinking."

"About what? Not to be nosy, I mean. Just, you're my brother, and I'm worried."

"You don't want to know," he said under his breath.

"What? I didn't hear you."

"Nothing," Ferb insisted.

"...Is this like when you switched the plans for the sundae machine? What was her name, Vanessa? Do you like someone?" Ferb could feel his cheeks burning.

"I - "

"Who is it? Ferb shook his head violently. "Okay, okay..."

"What were you thinking about earlier?" Ferb retaliated. "Don't say nothing." Now it was Phineas's turn to blush.

"Come on, let's get some sleep. We have a lot more walking to do."

Ferb woke up before Phineas again. They'd slept as they had the night before; shielding each other from the cold. And as before, Phineas had his thumb in his mouth. Ferb sighed. What could be bothering him that he couldn't tell his own brother?

"Ferb..." Phineas muttered in his sleep. Ferb froze, then pulled his brother closer to him. He had no idea what was on his brother's mind, but he'd be there for him if at all possible.

Ferb sat up and shook his brother's shoulder.

"Wake up," he said softly. "We have to go."

Phineas opened his eyes slowly, then jerked his thumb out of his mouth as if he hoped Ferb hadn't noticed. Ferb held out his hand, choosing not to comment - for now.

"All right, let's go," he agreed. "How much further could we have to go?"

"...Apparently a lot longer than I though," he griped five hours later. "Man, if we were 10 we would've made a hover board or something to make this easy _and_ fun instead of killing our feet. Can we sit for a while?" They sat off the side of the road, on the ground. Phineas leaned against his brother. "I'm glad we're so close, Ferb. Y'know, most brothers would sooner beat each other up than sleep together." Ferb chuckled nervously; Phineas's face went beet red as he realized what he'd said. "N-not like that! Like we've been doing, sleeping next to each other. You know what I mean. A lot of brothers fight. I'm just glad we don't." Smiling, Ferb reached out and ruffled his brother's hair.

"I am too, kiddo."

"Pff, I'm older than you are!"

"So? I'm taller." They laughed. "You're the best brother a guy could ever ask for. I got really lucky."

* * *

A/n I told you it'd be up faster. A little shorter, but. I hope you enjoy. :3 Please review!


	4. Chapter 4

"Kind of sounds like a dinosaur, doesn't it?" Phineas asked, pointing at his stomach. "I don't know why we didn't bring food. That wasn't so bright..."

"We weren't expecting it to take this long," Ferb pointed out. "It shouldn't be too much longer anyway. Look, you can see lights from here."

"Great. Man, I'm exhausted." Phineas flopped down on the ground. "Let's get some sleep."

Ferb settled down next to his brother and draped his arm over him.

"See, _this_ is what I meant earlier," Phineas chuckled. Ferb withdrew his arm, suddenly self-conscious.

"Would you rather I-?" Before he could finish his sentence, Phineas had grasped his hand. Ferb felt his cheeks burning.

"It's fine." He didn't say anything else. They were silent for a few moments. Finally, Ferb spoke up.

"You were sucking your thumb again," he murmured. The only response he got was his brother's soft, even breathing. Ferb buried his face in Phineas's neck and fell asleep.

xxxxx

"Oh, thank goodness." Ferb was the first one to speak when they stepped past the Marshton city limits sign. "I've got money. Let's find a restaurant. I'd eat dirt at this oint. Phineas laughed and pointed at a sign that read, "Joe's Country Diner."

15 minutes later, the waitress came out. She sat a hefty plate of steak and eggs in front of Phineas and a huge cheeseburger (no onions!) in front of Ferb. The two dug in, pleased.

"Is it bad?" Ferb asked, seeing the look on Phineas's face.

"N-no, it's great. Just, suddenly I'm not so hungry." Ferb stared at his brother in bewilderment.

"You haven't eaten in two days, how can you not be hungry? Are you all right, Phin?"

"I'm fine."

"You were sucking your thumb again last night," he mentioned tentatively, wondering if the two occurances were related.

"It's nothing."

"It's not. The last time you sucked your thumb was when you finally realized Isabella liked you. You can't go 2 days without eating and not be hungry over 'nothing'," Ferb pushed.

"I can't tell you," Phineas whispered, staring at his food. "I can't. You'd hate me."

Ferb stared at his brother, concerned.

"What? Phin, you're my brother. You can tell me anything. I would never hate you."

"Do you promise?"

"Of course I promise," Ferb answered softly. His stomach had knotted up; what could be so bad that Phineas felt he had to worry about that?

Phineas wrung his hands and continued to stare at his food.

"I like you." He said it so quietly that Ferb barely heard him. "Like... like you..."

Ferb froze.

He couldn't mean - that.

Could he?

"Wha-?" he mumbled.

"You're mad at me, aren't you?"

"Of course not. Of course not... it's not your fault. You... do you really...?"

"Sorry." Ferb grasped Phineas's hand under the table.

"Don't worry. You're my brother... and I like you, too," he added hesitantly.

"What?"

"You heard me... don't make me say it again," Ferb added, laughing weakly. "Go on, now. Eat. For me." Phineas smiled weakly.

"I've been so scared you'd hate me if you ever found out... and I couldn't bare to lose you."

"You never have to worry about that, Phin. No matter what. God," Ferb laughed, "I thought you were going to say something horrible, like you'd killed someone."

Half an hour later, their plates were both clear.

"What are we going to do though?" Phineas asked quietly. "I mean... we're brothers, but we..."

"We start off slow. Nobody has to know at first, right? We need to test first, see if we think it's worth the public ridicule. Besides, we're not real brothers, so they can't do anything." God bless Ferb's rational mind.

Both resolved to themselves that they wouldn't expect the relationship to last, but chose not to voice their concerns aloud.

"And no matter what happens, even if it doesn't last, we'll always be best buds," Phineas added, grinning.

They stocked up on snacks for their friends and found someone who would drive them back and give them a jump start. They arrived a few hours later, and the boys piled out to a surprising sight.

Their friends were filthy, but seemed happy. Some sort of animal was cooking over a fire and there was a smile pile of edible plants nearby. Phineas and Ferb were immediately tackled by the three.

"We were so worried about you!" Isabella exclaimed.

"Hunh? What happened here?" Phineas asked. Isabella giggled.

"Well, you know. Once a Fireside girl, always a Fireside girl!" Phineas smiled.

Ferb wandered off to help Thomas, the man who'd agreed to help them, with the jump start.

"Welcome back, Dinnerbell," Buford greeted warmly, flashing Phineas a thumbs up.

"Sorry we were so hard on you, Phineas. It wasn't really fair," Isabella said, and Baljeet and Buford mumbled their agreements.

"That's fine, guys. I shouldn't have dragged you out here in the first place. I guess sometimes people just grow apart."

"It's no big. If you want to stay a couple extra days-"

"No, no," Phineas interrupted quickly. "Let's just get home. We definitely got our fill of adventure." He glanced at his brother out of the corner of his eye. Ferb gave him a thumbs up. "Thanks, Thomas!" Phineas called. Thomas got into his truck and headed off. "It is a little late to leave now though. How about we sleep here one more night and head in the morning?"

"Sounds like a plan."

* * *

A/n Longer chapter is longer? This one hit 1k words at least. Anyway, hope you enjoyed. Finally some stuff between P and F. :3 Please review~:D


	5. Chapter 5

A/n: Okay, I'm starting off /and/ ending with an author's note this time. Because I want this said.

If you don't like the pairing, you don't like the pairing. You don't like the story. I get it. That doesn't mean you have to give some asshat review that tries to make me feel bad for writing it, because I don't.  
For another thing. People have crushes. People also move on from crushes. It's very realistic that Isabella would move on from her crush on Phineas if he showed no signs of liking her back.  
So, if you don't like it, don't read it. I can accept constructive criticism, but don't even bother flaming me for it.

* * *

It was 9 that night.

Isabella and the others had fallen asleep. Ferb and Phineas were lying in the car.

"Do you - mind?" Ferb asked softly, moving to put his arm over his brother.

"No, of course not. I don't want things to get awkward, Ferb... You don't need to worry." He buried his face in Ferb's chest.

"Mm... well..." Ferb blushed. "I know we agreed to start off slow..." He lifted Phineas's chin. "But..."

Phineas's stomach flipped and he felt his throat go dry as he realized what Ferb was asking.

"Y - mmhmm..." Ferb leaned in slowly, giving Phineas the chance to change his mind.

He didn't. Their lips met. It was a brief kiss, a soft, sweet kiss. Ferb broke away and smiled.

Phineas chuckled weakly.

"I - I never thought my first kiss would be from you, Ferb..."

"Your first kiss?" Ferb froze, feeling guilty. "But -"

"I was saving it. For someone special." Phineas brushed Ferb's hair out of his eyes. "Let's get some sleep. We have a long trip tomorrow. Night, Ferb."

"Night." Ferb paused; "I love you..." he added when his brother's breathing had slowed.

xxxxx

"Tents? Check. Sleeping bags? Check. Campfire out? Check." Phineas ran through the list, making sure they hadn't forgotten anything. "Isabella? Check. Buford? Check. Baljet? Check. Perry - wait, Perry? Where did you come from, boy?" Isabella looked down, confused by the platypus sitting on her lap. She handed him up to Phineas. "Check. Ferb? Let's hit the road." Ferb gave him a thumbs up before navigating cautiously around the trees and taking off.

They dropped off Buford and Baljeet first. At last they pulled up in front of Isabella's home, right across the street from their own.

"I'll see you later, Phineas. I really am sorry about how I acted. I'll try harder to keep in contact." She smiled sweetly.

"See you, Isabella." Once she was out of the car, Ferb reached for Phineas's hand and entwined their fingers.

"Let's take the wings off this thing and go see a movie," he suggested quietly. Phineas smiled.

"Better check in with mom first."

It took Ferb about an hour to remove the wings. Phineas spent the better part of the hour laying in the lawn on his stomach, watching his brother work. He was very skilled. He had known this fact for years, but he'd noticed more and more recently. He'd noticed a lot about his brother recently... He rolled over in the grass and stared up at the sky, daydreaming. Everyone thought Ferb was so quiet, but he wasn't. Not when they were alone. Sure, he still didn't talk quite as much as Phineas, but... But when they turned 10 he did get a bit quieter. Phineas just thought maybe he'd run out of things to say. But maybe this made sense. Now that he thought back on it, there had been a couple times where Phineas had grabbed Ferb's arm, or something of the like, where Ferb jumped a little or seemed surprised. Perhaps...?

Suddenly Ferb stood over him, interrupting his thoughts. Phineas grinned.

"Ready to go?"

They sat in the back of the theatre. They'd picked Porcelain, an R-rated horror movie. The arm was up between the seats and Phineas was resting comfortably against his brother.

"Our haunted house was scarier than this," Phineas whispered, disappointed. Ferb nodded. Phineas stared up into his brother's eyes. They heard a dull thud, and half the theatre screamed. Phineas laughed and Ferb kissed his forehead.

"I didn't come for the movie anyway," Ferb whispered back. "I love you, bro." Phineas beamed.

"That movie was lame," Phineas stated as they headed out to the car. "I had fun though. Want to go do something else?"

"It's almost midnight, Phin. We'd better get home," Ferb replied softly as they climbed ino the car. Phineas nodded and turned on the radio. Love Handel started playing softly. Phineas reached over and ran his fingers over Ferb's cheek.

"You snuck your way right into my heart," he sang along quietly. Ferb blushed.

"I can't believe this is happening," Ferb murmured.

"What?"

"This. Us. It feels so weird." Phineas traced his jaw.

"Why? You've had girlfriends before? Why am I any different? I'm your brother... you deserve better than me."

"Because I love you. Because every girlfriend I've had has asked me out, and I didn't care about any of them. I don't have to worry about how I act around you, or being accepted by your friends, or meeting your parents. I don't have to hide anything. You already know everything about me."

xxxxx

"Hey, Mom! We're home."

"Welcome home, boys. Did you enjoy your movie?"

Phineas glanced up at his brother and smiled.

"Yeah. We did."

Their mother was doing dishes. Trying to cover up the fact that she'd been waiting up for them.

"Go on, Mum. Get to bed," Ferb spoke up, smiling. "Phineas and I can take care of the dishes."

"Thanks, boys. I'll see you in the morning," the tired-looking woman replied gratefully. She started up the stairs. The boys worked silently until they heard their parents' bedroom door click shut.

"You wash, I'll dry?" Phineas asked, laughing. This had become routine for whenever they stayed out past ten. Ferb nodded.

"But it's your turn to put them away."

* * *

A/n! Updated! Sorry it took so long. I'm a lazy pain in the ass and I've had it written for a while and kept putting off typing it. Sorrrrrryyyyy. ...also sorry for what may come off as being an asshattish first Author's note, but it had to be said. I can understand not liking a pairing, because there are plenty of pairings I don't like. But I don't go through and flame someone for it. I have the pairing stated bluntly in the description. It's not like it's a surprise. So. If you don't like it, just stop reading it, and let me enjoy writing my fanfiction? K? k.  
(Likewise, to all of the people who do like my fic, ty! Ilu!)


	6. Chapter 6

They woke up the next morning in Ferb's bed. Ferb sat up and stared at his brother.

"I know you went to sleep in your own bed," he whispered, a hint of amusement in his voice. Phineas's eyes fluttered open and he batted his lashes innocently.

"I was lonely," he pouted, then laughed. "I know. Sorry."

"What if mom comes in to check on us?"

"Well... I had a nightmare?"

"That worked when you crawled into bed with me... when we were ten." Even so, he had to smile at his brother's sweet antics.

"I miss being ten. Everything was better when we were ten. We had _everything_ when we were ten."

Ferb ducked down and kissed him roughly on the lips.

"Not everything," he smirked, leaving Phineas breathless. "We didn't have this." Phineas nodded.

"No, I- I guess we didn't." Ferb laid back down and put his arm around his brother.

They heard the door swing open.

Instinctively they squeezed their eyes shut. This would probably end badly - but at the least they could postpone the confrontation.

"Boys, are you up?" their mother called. She stepped into the room. "Oh, how sweet. Phineas had a nightmare! I guess I'll just leave a note." She turned and made her way down the hall, closing the door behind her. Phineas's eyes shot open.

"Told you," he whispered triumphantly.

"Heh. Only our mother..." Phineas looked at the clock, then let his head fall back to the pillow and groaned. 8:30.

"It's too early to be awake."

"You're such a teenager, Phin. 7 years ago you would have been up at _least_ two hours ago."

"Ugh, seven years and two hours ago is _way_ too early to be up," he mumbled. Ferb snickered.

"I'll be downstairs, Phin. I'm gonna grab some breakfast. See you at 5," he chuckled. Phineas swatted at his boyfriend. Ferb smiled.

Only an hour or so later, Phineas stumbled down the steps and into the kitchen.

"Great timing. I was about to come wake you up," Ferb greeted. He was standing in front of the stove - and something smelled _good_.

"Woah, what's that?"

"Made you breakfast. Mom's out of town for the weekend," he answered, nodding to the note on the table.

"Oh... well, it smells really good. I didn't know you can cook, Ferb."

"I'm in Foods, remember? I've picked a few things up." Phineas snickered.

"Well, at least you didn't-"

"Do you want to eat? Don't say it."

"So why's Mom out of town?" Phineas asked, flopping down in a chair.

"Some... antiques thing. She's gone off to meet Dad. So we have the house to ourselves." With a flourish, Ferb pulled the pan off the stove and flipped an omelette onto a plate. He added a pile of hash browns, a couple strips of bacon, and a biscuit with jam.

"Bon apetite," he said, presenting the mass of food to Phineas.

"You've got the wrong accent for that, you know," Phineas joked, smiling. "Thanks, dude. Looks great." He shoved a forkful into his mouth. "Man, this is really good. You could start a restaurant or something."

"Heh. Been there, done that," Ferb replied, placing a glass of chocolate milk onto the table in front of his brother and lowering himself into a chair.

"Yeah, that was a good one. Remember that giant floating baby head? Man, that thing was weird. It showed up a lot, too. The haunted house, the restaurant, the car wash. I wonder what happened to _that_."

"Maybe we don't want to know." The boys looked at each other and started laughing so hard that their stomachs started hurting and tears started running down their faces. When they regained their composure, Ferb added, "Grab your plate and head to the living room. We can break into Dad's collection of Pinhead Pierre DVDs."

* * *

Kind of a short chapter, sorry. I'd had most of it written for a while, but then I lost the notebook and I got distracted by other stuff. I kind of LOVE the way this chapter turned out, it had been long enough since I'd worked on it then while I was typing it out I was finding jokes I'd thrown in and giggling madly because I'd forgotten about it. xD I hope you enjoy!


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

On the first day back, Phineas and Ferb walked down the halls of Danville High School together, like they did every day. A couple other teens waved at them or stopped to chat, but they were generally overlooked - like most teenagers. They stopped together at their shared locker and while Ferb was entering the combination, Phineas looked up at him anxiously.

"Do you think they know?" he whispered urgently. Ferb looked over and raised his eyebrow. "About us! You know what I'm talking about. I feel like they're looking straight through us."

"Don't worry about it, Phin," Ferb whispered back. "They have no reason to suspect anything." Phineas lowered his eyes and nodded.

"I know. I just... I don't know how well I can handle this. I'm not a secretive person, you know that."

"You'll be fine. Try not to worry about it too much, okay? Here, try writing," Ferb offered, offering one of his empty notebooks to his stepbrother. "It always makes me feel better."

Phineas smiled. "Thanks, bro," he answered, taking the notebook. He grabbed his books from the bottom of the locker. "I'll see you after second period." He slapped Ferb on the back and headed off to his first period English 12, leaving his brother staring after him. Smiling amusedly, Ferb grabbed a couple of his own books and started towards Calculus.

"Hey there," Phineas said, meeting his brother at his locker after Algebra. Ferb nodded, already engrossed in exchanging his books. "Did you hear what's for lunch?"

"I didn't. I can never hear the announcements over my English class. Besides, does it matter? You get the same thing every day anyway."

Phineas shrugged. "The pizza is better than the school food! I was just curious, that's all. What've you got next? Foods, right?"

"Yeah. Actually, we're cooking today, too. We're baking the pizzas we put together last time. We ought to have extra, want me to bring you a piece for lunch?"

xxxxx

Phineas threw his backpack down inside their room and collapsed on his bed.

"Man, today was exhausting. It's so hard to get readjusted to school after a break." Ferb sat next to him. "And I can't believe I have so much homework! Man..."

"You wouldn't have so much if you had worked on it during study hall," Ferb half-teased, flicking his brother's nose and sitting next to him on the bed. "What do you have? I've got quite a bit, too, maybe we could work on our homework together." Phineas groped around for his planner.

"Umm... looks like math, Spanish, English... Aww, man. I need a nap already."

"C'mon, Phin, let's go outside and get it done. I'll help you with your math if you need it," Ferb offered, heaving his and his brother's backpacks over his shoulder. Phineas followed his brother, sulking all the way down the stairs.

"Can't I do mine later? I'm tired..." Ferb turned and raised a finger to his lips, winking at his brother at nodding toward the kitchen where their mother was cooking supper. He led them through the back door, offering a brief hello to their mother as the door swung shut. He heaved their backpacks onto the ground next to the tree. Ferb sat next to the tree and patted the ground next to him.

"If you do it now," Ferb murmured into his brother's ear as Phineas settled down against him, "I can help you with your math. And then we can both take a nap later." Phineas pressed his finger to his bottom lip, pretending to consider this offer.

"Yeahhh, I _guess_ so..." he answered, sticking his tongue out. Ferb handed Phineas his backpack.

"You work on your English and Spanish first, and I'll get my essay written. Then we can do our math at the same time, and you can ask for help when you need it."

xxxxx

An hour passed. Ferb's essay was long finished, and he was nearly done with his math, as Phineas was just reaching for his. Phineas groaned.

"Math is harder than it needs to be. Why in the world would anybody need this stuff?"

"Well, it's necessary to become an engineer, I think... or maybe some types of construction? I'm not entirely sure."

"We did construction when we were ten, and it was worlds easier than Algebra," Phineas grumbled. Ferb laughed.

"That's because I took care of most of the blueprints and math, remember? I've always had to help you with your math." Ferb finished off the last problem and shut his book, leaning closer to look at what Phineas had on his worksheet. "Oh, no problem. I can help with this."

"You're two math classes ahead of me," Phineas replied. "If you couldn't, I was gonna be in trouble!" Ferb put his arm around his brother, and Phineas leaned into him. "Well... I suppose that's one way to make math more fun."

"Hey, boys?" Linda peeked out from the back door before stepping into the back yard. The boys looked up, Ferb wondering what she thought of seeing her sons like this, Phineas hoping she would be as oblivious this time as she was the last. "I'm heading to the store for some things for dinner. Your father was supposed to pick them up, but he's held up in traffic. I'll be back soon!" She waved and hurried to the car. As she pulled out of the driveway, Phineas and Ferb looked at each other and slowly exhaled.

"Bless her heart," Ferb muttered. Phineas laughed.

"I love Mom."

* * *

A/n: ...I. Am. So. Sorry. I do not have words of apology enough for how late this chapter is, and it's even a little short at that! Rest assured that I am -not- dead, and I'm still working on this one. I'm already working on a future chapter, although I'm not sure how future it will be. I really am sorry for taking so long, I hope you enjoy the chapter. Also, I've started putting linebreaks in between time skips - I used to put double lines in between time skips, but I've realized now that fanfiction deletes those. -_- Sorry 'bout that.


	8. Chapter 8

"I don't think I can do this much longer, Ferb," Phineas murmured to his brother. School had been in for three weeks; the boys were sitting against the tree in the backyard, relaxing in the sun. Ferb's hand rested on Phineas's, his fingers curled downward.

"Do what, Phin?" his brother asked softly.

"This. Us." Ferb flinched and started to pull his hand away. "I mean, the secrecy!" The older boy grasped the younger's hand and held on tightly. "I'm terrible at keeping secrets, you know that. I'm constantly paranoid I'm going to give us away. Maybe... I don't know, maybe it's time."

Ferb chuckled. "It's been nearly a month now," he said, sobering. "Do you think it's worth it?"

"Worth what?"

"Worth the chaos. Worth the secrecy. Either. I'm saying that breaking up is still an option, if it gets to be too much."

Phineas paused for a moment. "...No," he said with finality, and Ferb's heart started beating again. "No. Of course it's worth it." He didn't have to add that he was thinking: "Of course _you're_ worth it."

"I love you too, Phin," Ferb answered teasingly, smiling. "Do you think you can handle the shock of coming out?"

"Better than I can handle the secrecy of not," Phineas answered almost instantaneously.

"You've been thinking about this for a while, haven't you?" Ferb mumbled, and the orange-clad boy next to him nodded.

"I don't want to be in secret anymore. I haven't. I just... don't know how to tell them."

"I think I might have an idea," Ferb whispered, glancing at the door before pressing his lips to Phineas's forehead. "Prom is next Saturday, right?"

"You've got to be kidding me. You can't be serious about this." Ferb waved two prom tickets in the air.

"You agreed last night. I sure didn't spend 70 bucks on these because they're pretty." Phineas laughed nervously.

"I know. It's just so _surreal_."

"I know, Phin. I'm scared too. But it's still up to you. It's not too late to turn back – if you'd rather ask someone else, you can have the tickets."

"Why? You bought the tickets," Phineas pointed out.

"But there's no one I'd rather go with. I'd rather stay home." Phineas hugged his boyfriend tightly and buried his face in Ferb's chest to hide his blush and the silly grin spreading over his face.

"No," Phineas said, his voice muffled. "We're going together. It's _about time._" Ferb smiled and he started stroking Phin's hair.

"Excellent. We can talk to Mother about tuxedoes tomorrow."

xxxxx

Phineas sat in the back of his first period, doodling on his notebook and smiling. Ferb's likeness stared up at him from the page, his face in his usual neutral expression.

"Nice drawing," the red-headed girl next to him whispered. Phineas looked over, surprised. The girl was Amber, a pretty girl who'd never spoken a word to him.

"Uh – thanks," he answered. She smiled at him and batted her eyelashes. Phineas shifted in his seat uncomfortably, going over the lines a few more times in pencil.

"Who is it?"

"Oh, it's my stepbrother, Ferb. He goes here, have you met him before?"

"No, I think I've seen him in the halls before, though. He looks familiar. I'm Amber, by the way."

"Uh. Yeah. I'm Phineas."

She giggled. "I know. Hey, I was just wondering, prom is coming up, right? Would you go with me?"

"Oh... I- uh, I'd like to," he lied, face turning red. He felt as if his brother was watching him through the paper, waiting to see what he'd do. "Somebody's already asked me though. I'm sorry, we've already bought our tickets."

"Oh." She sighed, and Phineas felt guilty. "That's okay. Maybe we could go out some other time, though?"

"I – I don't think so, Amber. I'm kind of taken. I'm sorry, I really am." The girl nodded, obviously more disappointed than she was trying to let on.

"Okay, I guess. Maybe I should have asked earlier. I'm sorry for bothering you."

"No, you didn't! I really am sorry." Amber nodded again, but remained silent. Phineas slumped farther into his chair.

xxxxx

Phineas knew his unhappiness was apparent on his face the instant he walked into the lunchroom – as soon as Ferb saw him, he pulled him into a hug before Phineas could protest, much to the surprise of everyone nearby.

"Hunh?" Phineas uttered, pulling himself out of Ferb's comfortable arms. This wasn't like the British boy; Ferb rarely displayed any affection in public, to anyone. But Phineas glanced up to find the familiar, stoic face.

"What's wrong?" Ferb mouthed. The kids who knew Ferb were staring, wonder if something horrible had happened to the two brothers over the weekend to provoke this odd change of behavior. There was only a small group nearby, but Phineas felt like every eye in the cafeteria was trained on them.

Wide eyed, Phineas mouthed, "Not now," and ran out of the room, leaving Ferb baffled and worried. Life in the cafeteria resumed as normal, and Phineas found himself padding down the hall to the school's theatre.

The school's plays were all long over, and the large auditorium sat empty as it had for the last three weeks. He hid behind the rich red curtain. Poor Ferb was probably worried about him now, and Amber was upset. Half the lunchroom was confused and wondering what was going on.

Well, they'd know before long. And so would their mother. _Tomorrow_, in fact. _Tomorrow,_ everything was going to go temporarily insane. At least, they could hope it was temporary. And how many people would be hurt along the way? Their parents? Amber? Isabella, Buford, Baljeet? Or just them? They'd already suffered through over three months or hiding who they were, who they were _with_. Maybe it was someone else's turn. _We never meant to hurt anyone._

"Phineas?" came a soft voice. Ferb. "Are you in here?" The redhead stayed silent. "I know you're here. I've already checked the art room."

"I'm here," Phineas replied, a small smile fighting its way onto his face.

"What's wrong?" Ferb asked, making his way to the stage. Phineas crawled out and sat on the edge of the stage, and his boyfriend joined him. Phineas shook his head and Ferb understood. "It's not too late to turn back. You can still go with someone else."

"That's the thing, it _is_ too late. It's been too late. I don't _want_ to be with anyone else. And I'm okay with that. I just want it to hurry up and get to the part where everything's fine and dandy and everyone accepts us."

"I understand." Ferb put his arm around Phineas, and Phineas rested his head on his brother's shoulder. "But it may never get to that point you're dreaming of. There are still a lot of people who don't accept people like us." Phineas didn't need his brother to explain what he meant. _People like us._ Gays. "And we're stepbrothers, Phin. You know that isn't going to help our case."

"I know. I just... I don't want to hurt anybody."

* * *

A/n: Holy hell I am _so sorry_ for taking so long. I didn't mean for it to take this long, and it didn't even _need_ to take this long, because I don't even know how long I have had this chapter written and just needed to type it. I have the next chapter written, too, and at least part of the one after that, so I'll try to get those up sooner. I have _not_ abandoned this story, I just occasionally get writers' block, which is also why part of this sounds so forced, because I basically had to just push past it. I'msosorry I hope you enjoy it regardless of my displeasure with how it's turned out and also the time it took for me to get this up I'm sorry. :C


	9. Chapter 9

The alarm went off. Phineas groaned.

"We need to start sleeping in my bed," he whispered into Ferb's ear. "It's closer to the alarm clock."

"Well," Ferb whispered back, climbing over his brother to shut off the clock, "maybe if you'd let Mom replace your dorky old boat bed, there'd be room for us both."

"Hey, I like my be-" Ferb cut him off with a brief kiss before lumbering across the room.

"Then why've you been sleeping in mine?" he teased, sliding back under the covers next to Phineas. Phineas wrapped his arm around his brother and buried his face in Ferb's neck.

"Because this is more comfortable than that silly old boat bed could ever hope to be," he answered lazily.

"I thought you were all about getting out, seizing the day, building stuff like we used to?"

"So? We used to have lazy days, too."

"Not as often as you are now." Phineas swatted Ferb playfully.

"It's a Saturday," he complained. "We've been working all week."

"Just remember that we can't stay like this _all_ day," Ferb murmured, pulling his boyfriend closer. "We have to shower and get dressed eventually. Prom starts at 7, I figure we'll go to dinner at 4 and we can just drive around if we get done too early. Better early than late. Have you thought about where you want to go?"

"Dinner? We're going to dinner?"

"Well, yeah. Don't you want the full experience?"

"I... I guess."

"Good. I love you," Ferb whispered. It came out of nowhere, and took Phineas by surprise.

"I love you, too," he replied slowly. "I don't know where I'd be without you."

"Probably right here in Danville," Ferb chuckled.

"But a lot less happy," Phineas countered.

A knock on the door startled them.

"Boys?" Linda called. The boys didn't even flinch; they had started locking the door shortly after Phineas started sleeping in Ferb's bed.

"Yeah, Mom?" Phineas answered.

"Your sister is coming into town today," she explained. "Your father and I are going to pick her up from the airport, and going out to lunch. We'll be back in time for you two to take the car to dinner."

"All right, love you!" he replied, his calm voice not matching the wide eyes Ferb recognized as an expression of panic.

"Love you too, Phineas! And you, Ferb!" They heard her footsteps retreat down the stairs.

"Candace too?" Phineas mouthed.

"Just keeps getting better, huh?" Ferb whispered. "Come on. The parents are out, let's take our do-nothing day outside."

xxxxx

The sun was glowing brightly and high in the sky when Phineas's eyes opened after his nap. He was sleeping laying on his back in the grass, his hands stretched out to the sides. He was grateful for the shade, with his head and shoulders in the shadow of the tree. Ferb sat with his back against the tree, reading the book he'd brought out with one hand, and resting the other on Phineas's shoulder.

"It's so nice out," Phineas murmured. Ferb looked up from his book, and after a second, he nodded.

"It is," he agreed lazily.

"Oh- I figured you were asleep," Phineas said sheepishly.

"Nah, you know I can't sleep during the day."

"Yeah... how long was I asleep, then?"

"Oh, I don't know." Ferb looked at his purple wristwatch. "An hour and a half, two hours?"

"Ferb! You could've left, you know." Ferb smiled, leaning back against the tree and looking up at the branches. Phineas rolled over onto his stomach to proclaim his guilt by pouting.

"I could have," Ferb agreed. "But I didn't want to. It's nice out, I had a book to read. I didn't mind waiting."

Phineas blushed. "Sorry I kept you," he murmured, pulling himself closer to his brother. He buried himself into Ferb's side and let his arm drape over his brother's torso. Ferb wrapped his arm around his Phineas's shoulders.

"You didn't, you know that." Ferb kissed the top of his head. "Come on, we'd better go get ready. You know it takes you forever to put on a tuxedo." Phineas laughed.

"Hey. It's not my fault I haven't been asked to as many dances as you." He stuck his tongue out, inclining his neck to look at Ferb. "I may need help though. I haven't put one of those things on since like... elementary school? I think Aunt Tiana's wedding, actually." Even as his brother kept rambling on, Ferb could feel the blood rushing to his cheeks. The boys had started changing in the bathroom years ago to preserve privacy – he wasn't sure he liked the idea of changing together now.

"All right. Come on, Phin, let's go get cleaned up."

"This is it, isn't it?" Phineas asked, smiling as Ferb pulled him up. "No more secrecy. No more hiding.

"And all hell is about to break loose."

xxxxx

Ferb stood in front of the full length mirror in their bedroom, adjusting his tie. Any other occasion he'd be feeling pretty confident – contrary to his brother, he loved being dressed up. He was fairly handsome, and he knew it, in the least egotistical way possible. But with the impending events he was feeling everything but confident. He had butterflies in his stomach like he hadn't since he had confessed to Phineas. Scenarios were running through his head, scenarios of their parents trying to break them apart, scenarios of his boyfriend getting bullied. He could handle being bullied – and he knew Phineas could, too. Phineas was a strong boy. But that wouldn't make it hurt less to watch his brother – or his boyfriend - get hurt.

The door swung open, and Phineas stepped in wearing a towel and his boxers. Ferb blushed.

"I need help," he complained, a pout on his face. "...Woah, Ferb. You look... really, great."

"You don't look so bad yourself," Ferb teased, smirking. If possible, Phineas blushed even redder than his step-brother.

"Sh—shut up and help me into this thing," he said, gesturing at the tuxedo hanging on the closet.

xxxxx

"I can't believe it's already your senior prom!" Linda said, sniffling and fixing Phineas's tie.

"Yes, Mom."

"Mom, leave them alone and let them go. Getting dressed by your mom isn't cool," Candace threw in from her spot lying on her stomach on their couch. Linda let her hands fall to her sides and they trembled as she looked into her boys' faces.

"Have fun, boys. Bring your dates home after the dance, I'd like to take pictures."

"Okay, Mom."

"Do you promise?" Phineas and Ferb looked at each other.

"We promise," Ferb said solidly.

Linda handed the keys over to her stepson and hugged them both tightly.

"Bye, Mom," Phineas said, patting her on the back. "We'll see you later." Ferb grabbed Phineas's arm and pulled him out the door.

As soon as Phineas had buckled his seat belt, he pressed the lock and sank lower in his seat. Ferb sat next to him, hands already resting on the steering wheel though the key wasn't yet in the ignition. Ferb knew his brother's heart was pounding. His face was pale, too.

"Phin?" he asked softly. Phineas looked over and smiled.

"Let's go," he encouraged. "It can't get any worse than what I'm picturing."

Ferb chuckled weakly. "Universal ridicule, worlds exploding? I gotcha. So, the quicker we get it over with, the better?" Phineas nodded. Ferb leaned over and Phineas met him in the middle for one short kiss.

"We're 17. There's nothing they can do to stop us. Just remember that."

Ferb started the car and as they pulled out of their driveway they caught sight of Isabella being led out the door by her boyfriend, stars in her eyes.

"Wow," Phineas uttered. "Isabella really looks beautiful tonight, doesn't she?" And she did. Her hair was pinned up behind her ears in ringlets, while the rest hung in loose curls behind her shoulders. Her pink dress was slim and clung to her curves nicely. If they hadn't known for themselves, they would never have believed this was the same Fireside Girl they'd grown up with.

"Just think, that could've been yours," Ferb teased. Phineas had long known about Isabella's old crush on him. At the age of 14, she'd finally gotten tired of his obliviousness and just blurted it out.

"Phineas, I love you!" The words hit him like bricks fired from the catapult they were trying to build to help the city construction projects. "Why don't you ever notice me?" Tears were welling up in her eyes, and her voice was wavering; Phineas realized suddenly that his latest oversight had been the last straw, and moments from the past flashed before his eyes that he only now was realizing was Isabella's attempts at flirting with him.

"What? I mean, Isabella, I didn't know! I'm sorry." He pulled her into a hug and patted her on the back. "I never meant to ignore you. But... I don't like you like that. I know it probably doesn't help, but you _are_ one of my best friends." That was definitely not what she had wanted to hear. But Isabella knew a lost cause when she saw one.

"I just thought... No, it's okay, Isabella," she sniffled to herself. Phineas held her tighter.

"I'm sorry, Isabella. I really am. If it helps, it's not you. I just... I don't..." He couldn't bring himself to tell her his secret, but he was sure she got the idea. Maybe. Until his confession to Ferb, that was the only time he'd even considered letting anyone know.

It didn't console her much.

"I can't say I'm interested," Phineas laughed. Ferb nodded.

"It's good she's finally moved on. She was pining after you for years. Everybody knew it but you."

"Then why didn't anyone tell me?" Phineas sighed. "Anyway, where are we going to dinner?" The car pulled around the corner.

"I made reservations at Chez Platypus, since you never said where you wanted to go."

"Chez Platypus?" Phineas echoed.

"Yeah. Remember, that guy wanted to make it a chain? There's one right on the edge of town."

"Oh, huh. I wonder how I never knew that." Ferb nodded. "That sounds great, but..."

"But?"

"...but why are you trying so hard to make tonight special? It's just going to end with it going to hell anyway."

"That's... really pessimistic for you, Phin. Besides, we can't enjoy our first real date together in the mean time? Anyway, I'm not planning on ending it that way. I thought on the way home we could stop up and pick up a movie to watch, after everything's said and done."

"In the living room? With everyone around?"

"No, you silly boy," Ferb answered, the chuckle in his voice making Phineas smile. They did seem to have switched personalities for the night; Ferb was never pessimistic, but he was never the optimist Phineas was. "I bought a portable DVD player for us. We can watch in our room." He reached down and turned on the radio.

"Oh. Well, great!" Phineas said, beaming. "How are you getting the money for all of this, Ferb? The DVD player, dinner, prom tickets?"

"Oh, just some extra cash I had hidden away from our summer adventures years ago. I've been saving it for a rainy day, and if ever there were a rainy day.." Phineas paused for a bit, then nodded thoughtfully. They had charged for some of their adventures.

He reached over and turned up the volume of the radio. "Heh. I know this song." Ferb nodded.

"I would hope so, you helped write it," he replied when he recognized Max Modem's voice.

"Yeah... Man, remember why we wrote this one?"

"I... of course. My father was worried your mum was going to think he was boring after her 80's reunion concert," Ferb answered. Phineas nodded.

"They're so devoted to each other. Ferb, I hope we can be like them some day."

"Phin, I'd say that if we can make it through tonight, we will be." Phineas was nodding near imperceptibly when Ferb pulled into the parking lot of a familiar-looking flashy restaurant with a beaver tail.

"We'll make it," the British boy added a few moments of silence later, as he pulled the key out of the ignition. "I promise." The two boys climbed out of the car and walked into the restaurant together, holding hands unapologetically.

* * *

A/n: It didn't take as long to upload! But Jesus this one took forever to type. It's longer, and I like the ending of this one. Even if the rest of it is still pretty meh. I hope you enjoy it! :3


	10. Chapter 10

The positives to having dinner so far away from the school was that it allowed for a nice, quiet start to the evening. No one here knew them. No one to notice they were stepbrothers. Here they were just another couple. A gay couple, sure, but Danville and the areas around it had always been open-minded.

The restaurant was relatively casual, but Ferb had gone ahead and made reservations anyway. When they got inside, they were escorted to their table, a booth near the back. Ferb had even had a(n unlit) candle set in the center of the table for them. They took seats across the table from each other and made small talk until the waitress ame over to take drink orders.

"Oh, are you boys getting ready to go to prom?" she asked. The bubbly girl's dyed-purple hair bounced around her shoulders in curls, and her name tag read "Grace." Phineas nodded and smiled in his step-brother's direction. Grace giggled. "How sweet. Can I get you two something to drink?"

"I'll take a Coke. And a root beer for my... boyfriend." The new word tingled on Phineas's lips. A small smile spread on Ferb's as well. The server nodded.

"Do you know what it is you want to eat, or do you need a little more time?" Phineas glanced over his menu and up at Ferb. Ferb didn't nod or shake his head; he didn't have to. Phineas could always read him.

"We're ready," Phin answered confidently. "You first, Ferb?"

"Well, the pizza was pretty good, way back when." His eyes twinkled.

"Make that two. Mushrooms and sausage on his, ham and pineapple for mine." A hint of laughter lightened Phineas's voice. The waitress looked to Ferb for approval and he nodded his assent as they passed over their menus. She smiled cutely at them and bounced away toward the kitchen to put in their orders.

"So far, so good?" Ferb muttered.

"Yeah, with the people who don't know. But it is helping," Phineas admitted, slouching back in his seat. "Be honest, how do you think Mom will take it?"

"You know, I'm not sure. Father will probably just... well, you know Father. He tends to take things in stride."

Phineas laughed. "That's an understatement. 'Hey Dad, we built a monster truck course in the back yard!' 'Okay, boys. Does your mother know?' And Candace is easy to predict... she'll probably just pass out cold anyway, so there's no point worrying about her." The boys nodded their thanks to the waitress as she dropped off their drinks.

"Mother, though... She's always so oblivious it's hard to tell how she'll respond to actually being confronted by something."

"I guess we'll just have to wait and see." They fell into a thoughtful silence. Ferb tapped out the beat to another Love Handel song, one his brother didn't know, that he used to listen to on his dad's cassettes as a kid. Phineas nodded his head along absently anyway.

"I think Isabella already knows," he said suddenly. "Well, kinda." Ferb's eyebrows had gone up. "Not about us, but about me. I kind of... hinted. When I finally found out she liked me, I was hoping it'd make her feel better, like it wasn't her fault. I don't know if it worked. But hey, she shouldn't be too surprised." Ferb nodded once, and even though his face stayed neutral Phineas could see his brother processing the information and trying to do the same thing he was – predict.

"Okay! That's enough of that. Thinking about it won't help," Phineas interrupted. "It's time for something else. You were talking about getting a movie, right? Have anything in particular in mind?"

"I thought you could have final say. But I was also thinking about getting Shy Guy, if you wouldn't be averse."

"Shy Guy... that's a romcom, isn't it? From like 10 years ago."

"Yes. I thought tonight might be a romcom kind of night, all things considered," Ferb said. Phineas tilted his head back and forth, considering.

"Hey, can't disagree with that. Maybe a bad horror movie, too. For some laughs. I read on the internet about this one about a taxi-" He cut himself off as the waitress brought their food.

"Here are your pizzas," she said as she slid the boys' food in front of them. She lingered awkwardly for a couple of moments before- "Hey, you called him Ferb earlier, right? Are you two Phineas and Ferb?"

The color drained from Phineas's face.

"Uh... yeah. Do we know you?" he asked.

"Oh, I just used to go to a lot of your projects. Of course, I didn't have purple hair then, kind of a light brown, so I'm not sure you'd recognize me. You two always made my summers." She still looked kind of uncomfortable - but not as uncomfortable as the knot in Phineas's stomach. "But, um, - and I'm sorry if I'm being nosy - aren't you brothers?"

"Step-brothers," Ferb corrected easily. "We're stepbrothers."

"But we've always been more best friends than brothers anyway, so it's not as weird as it seems," Phin added, grateful for his boyfriend's intervention. The relief on Grace's face was clearly visible despite her obvious efforts to hide it.

"You two seem a little on edge tonight. Are you just now coming out?"

"Yeah. To everyone. Go big or go home, right?" Phineas laughed, feeling more at ease than he had in weeks.

"It's hard. Let me know if there's anything I can do, all right?" The boys nodded, a little speechless, and Grace shuffled off back to her job. Phineas reached out and squeezed Ferb's hand.

"She's getting a good tip. But hey, that went better than expected."

"Probably better than eating these without dirtying our tuxedos will," Ferb countered, and Phineas had to crack another smile.

* * *

A/n OH WELL YOU KNOW IT'S ONLY BEEN TWO YEARS HI SORRY GUYS god i don't think anyone's even going to want to read this anymore after two years. I've had writer's block something awful lately. And I'm really sorry about STILL not getting to the prom, I was really planning on doing that this chapter, but then the dinner scene went longer than I had really intended. And tonight I basically just went "No, I'm going to update that thing. And I'm not going to bed until I've done it." So... sorry if it's not quite up to par, either. It's 6:30 now and I've been working on it for a bunch of hours. So hopefully I'll also manage to get the actual prom chapter up soon - and I SWEAR it's coming up next chapter. I swear it. It's going to. And hopefully now that it's going somewhere it won't be another 2 years! Feel free to yell at me for being a slow jerk.


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